Annabel wrote:Yeah, alcohol free beers are great. I like some of them a lot, and better than the alcoholic ones since my head stays clear.

I think they taste like crap. If im gonna suffer with the taste of them i might as well as drink a real beer and get buzzed! Not that i would do that but i never drank for the taste i can tell ya that! Oh and by the way there is alcohol in non alcoholic drinks, they contain no more than .5 percent alcohol by volume. Non-alcoholic beer can contain a small amount of alcohol (the exact percentage varies by country), so purchasers of non-alcoholic beer in some US states must be at least 21. So theres not enough alcohol to get you buzzed but ya cant say your completely abstinate.

zavk wrote:But again, this is not an excuse. I just don't wish to beat myself up with some sort of puritanical stick and generate feelings of aversion over my 'failure' to be a 'perfect' Buddhist. I just do what I can, watching and learning from my present circumstances, and always with the precepts as guiding principles, even if I cannot adhere to them totally. I do believe that with enough 'dhammic momentum' my craving for alcohol (even though it is mild) will dissipate.

Rain soddens what is kept wrapped up,But never soddens what is open;Uncover, then, what is concealed,Lest it be soddened by the rain.

Annabel wrote:Yeah, alcohol free beers are great. I like some of them a lot, and better than the alcoholic ones since my head stays clear.

I think they taste like crap.

I'd have to agree. When it comes to beer, it all tastes pretty bad, which is why beer companies don't say it "tastes good," because that would sound ridiculous. Instead, they say it "goes down smooth" and has good "drinkability" -- as in, it tastes bad, but not so much that it makes you want to vomit.

A beer can be good with certain meals, though, like a burger or a steak.

Annabel wrote:Yeah, alcohol free beers are great. I like some of them a lot, and better than the alcoholic ones since my head stays clear.

I think they taste like crap. If im gonna suffer with the taste of them i might as well as drink a real beer and get buzzed! Not that i would do that but i never drank for the taste i can tell ya that! Oh and by the way there is alcohol in non alcoholic drinks, they contain no more than .5 percent alcohol by volume. Non-alcoholic beer can contain a small amount of alcohol (the exact percentage varies by country), so purchasers of non-alcoholic beer in some US states must be at least 21. So theres not enough alcohol to get you buzzed but ya cant say your completely abstinate.

I haven't imbibed salubrious libations (:lol:) in over 28 years, since my son was born, since I wanted him to have better memories of his dad than I had of mine. However, I like to use beer for cooking, specifically making batter and certain breads. I assumed the alcohol cooked out, but with alcohol-free beer it became a non-issue, hooray, can I get a hallelujah from the 12-steppers?

J / Bb

Author of Redneck Buddhism: or Will You Reincarnate as Your Own Cousin?